AL

Today I broke one of my own rules!

I realized several years ago that if I wanted as many people as possible to be actively involved in the life of the church there were a lot of things I had to take my hands off myself. Hospital visitation was one of those and rather than do it all myself, we established a team of folks - The Barnabas Network -who have the right kind of disposition for this kind of ministry and we handed it over to them.

People in our church know that they don't want to be so sick that they see me approaching their bedside!

I have several excuses for breaking that rule and visiting one of our members in hospital today. One is that he is in Sloane Kettering and I didn't expect any of our Barnabas Network to hike all the way into Manhattan.

The second is I've known the patient, Al, and his family for getting on for twenty years now. I've done a lot of things with Al, especially when it comes to serving the homeless and those in need. He's a worker, a prayer, a man of faith who shares that faith fearlessly.

We've served hundreds at a time on the streets of Manhattan and we go out together more locally nowadays on Saturday afternoons with all the other volunteers who make our mobile soup kitchen happen.

I like Al. I have no favorites, but some people are special.

Please say a prayer for his complete recovery before you move anywhere else online.